I love strawberries, and that’s no secret. I thought about making strawberry shortcake for our Valentine’s Day dessert, but I really wanted to incorporate chocolate. I finally decided to make a chocolate cheesecake with a strawberry topping. I adapted Emeril’s recipe for NY-Style Chocolate Cheesecake to fit our tastes. I used my largest spring-form pan, since we love leftovers! If you have a smaller (8 inch or so) pan, you may want to cut the filling in half.

If you try this recipe, just make sure that you have enough time. You really need to make it the day before to allow for all the cooling time.

Here’s my recipe:

Crust

1 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs

4 Tbsp melted butter

Mix the crumbs and butter, then press into the bottom of your springform pan. Set aside while you make the filling.

Filling

10 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

2 1/2 lbs (five 8oz. packaged) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp vanilla extract

3 Tbsp flour

1 cup sour cream

3 eggs

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (which I don’t have) or a bowl set over a simmering pot of water (which I do have). Don’t boil it too hard, just let it simmer and slowly melt the chocolate. Give it a stir and set it aside to cool slightly.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until well combined, stopping frequently to scrape the bowl. Add the flour and blend well. Add the sour cream and chocolate and blend well, again scraping the bowl often. Blend in the eggs, one at a time. Pour into the crust. Bake in a preheated 325°F oven for 60-70 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool in the oven, without moving it, for 1-2 hours. Remove the cheesecake to a wire rack and let cool 1 more hour on the counter. Then chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Before serving, run a knife around the edge of the pan and remove the spring-form sides, then add the topping.

Mash the berries together with the sugar, lemon juice and preserves, and let sit for about an hour or more to let the juices collect (I love juicy berries!). Spread the sour cream on the top of the cheesecake. This will help to disguise any cracks and will also make the topping stand out. Spoon on top of the sour cream, slice the cheesecake and serve. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Green Bean- Haha! Sorry, I’m already taken. But feel free to try my recipe. Let’s just say that I know the way to a man’s heart.

Mom- It’s different than your regular recipe, but I think both are good! I was thinking we could probably just add melted chocolate to your recipe, but then I didn’t know if it would work or not, and I didn’t want to risk it. Yes there are leftovers… maybe I’ll give you a piece… This is definitely going to be my lunch today!